Rise and Fall

Jocelyn sat at the kitchen table working on some advertising work for the Steelers. She looked at all of the papers in front of her and put her head in her hands, stressed out from knowing that she needed to have a plan put together for the following day.

The doorbell rang, and Jocelyn let out a groan as she stood up to see who was there. She really didn’t have enough time to talk to anyone since she had so much work to do. She walked over to the door, opening it to see Sid standing on the other side, his hands in his pockets, and rocking on his heels.

“What are you doing here?” Jocelyn questioned as Sid walked past her inside her apartment. Jocelyn stared at him as he walked over to the table where all of her papers laid.

“I needed to talk to you,” he told her, looking up from the papers and over at her.

Jocelyn continued watching him, waiting on him to continue. When he didn’t, she asked, “What did you need to talk to me about? And, why couldn’t this be done over the phone?”

“I’m sorry,” Sid apologized immediately. “I’m sorry for acting like a jerk.”

“And, did you apologize to Kris because I think he’s the one that deserves an apology. You know, for you trying to fight him!”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated.

Jocelyn rolled her eyes, not really caring for the apology. “Okay, is that what you needed to tell me? Because I’ve got a lot of work to do,” she said, pointing to the table. “And, I really don’t have a lot of time to talk to you right now.”

“Jocelyn, I want to give us another try,” Sid said quickly.

Jocelyn looked up at him, trying to determine if she had heard the words correctly or not. “You want to give us another try?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Sid said nervously. “So, what do you say? Can we try this again?”

“No!” Jocelyn exclaimed, and Sid stared at her, shocked by her answer. “The only reason you want to get back with me is because I started dating Kris. If I wasn’t dating anyone, then you wouldn’t even give me a second thought.”

“That’s not true,” Sid insisted. “Jocelyn, I really like you. I’d like to get back together with you again,” he said.

Jocelyn glared at him. “Did you forget? I’m just a distraction,” she said, using his own words against him.

“You’re a good distraction! Jocelyn, I miss you.”

“Sid, you told me that I was a distraction that you didn’t need. And, now, all of a sudden you change your mind? Because I’m dating one of your teammates!” Jocelyn cried.

“Damn it, Jocelyn. He doesn’t deserve you!”

“And you do?” Jocelyn questioned. “Why? Because you’re the captain and he’s just a regular player on the team?”

“Yes!” Sid screamed, and then realizing what he had just said, he tried to backtrack. “That’s not what I mean,” he told her.

“That’s exactly what you mean,” Jocelyn told him. “But, let me tell you something. Just because you’re the captain of the team doesn’t mean that you get everything you want. Everyone just doesn’t simply fall at your feet.”

“I know that,” Sid told her. “I didn’t mean what I said. I just meant you belong with me.”

“No, I don’t,” Jocelyn told her, narrowing her eyes. “In fact, do you want to know why I even started dating you in the first place?” she questioned. Sid didn’t say anything, so she continued. “It was because of your team.”

“What are you talking about?” Sid asked, confused by her comment.

“The only reason why I asked you to go with me to that Steelers thing was because your teammates asked me to. They can’t stand you, Sid. They can’t stand the way you act in the locker room, and they wanted to get someone to distract you. I was that person.”

Sid continued staring at her, trying to figure out if what she was saying was true or not. “They asked me to date you. That is the only reason I dated you,” she said, venom spewing from her mouth.

“Is that true?” Sid questioned. “The only reason you dated me was because of my teammates? You never wanted to be with me?”

“That’s exactly true. I never wanted to be with you. I did it all for your team,” Jocelyn lied through her teeth.

“Okay,” Sid said, walking right out the door.

Jocelyn sat back down at the table and put her head down on the table, beginning to cry. She was trying to figure out why she had just lied to Sid. He had told her he wanted to be with her again, and she had turned him away? Why?

Twenty minutes later, Jocelyn still sat there, crying on all of the papers that were underneath her head. Brooklyn walked in and saw Jocelyn sitting there. “Oh my god, Jocelyn. What happened? What’s wrong?”she asked urgently.

“I just lied to Sid,” Jocelyn whimpered.

“What are you talking about? Start from the beginning,” Brooklyn ordered.

Jocelyn picked her head up to look at her sister through bloodshot eyes. “Sid came over and told me he wanted to get back together with me. I got upset and told him he only wanted me because I was supposedly dating Kris, and I’m just a distraction to him. He said that wasn’t true, and I told him the truth.”

“What? You just said that you lied to him,” Brooklyn said, confused.

“I told him the truth about why I started to go out with him. I told him that his teammates asked me to, and that that’s the reason why I started going out with him.”

Brooklyn’s jaw dropped, surprised that her sister had told Sid. “What did he say?” she asked.

“He asked me if that’s the only reason I dated him. And, I told him it was,” Jocelyn told her. “It was a lie,” she said, looking up at Brooklyn.

Brooklyn pulled Jocelyn into a hug. “I’m so sorry,” she told her.

“Brooklyn, I love him,” Jocelyn whispered.

Brooklyn just nodded her head, already knowing that her sister had fallen in love with Sid. “It’s all going to be just fine.”

“No, it’s not,” Jocelyn cried. “Why couldn’t I just tell him the truth and tell him that Kris and I aren’t really going out, and that we only did that so he would get jealous? And why couldn’t I just tell him that I want to get back together with him, too?”

“Jocelyn,” Brooklyn began, but Jocelyn interrupted her.

“Why couldn’t I just tell him how I really feel?”